Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a privateliberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and international relations. CMC is one of the seven members of the Claremont Colleges consortium.
Established in 1946 as a men's college, CMC was officially incorporated in 1947 and began admitting women in 1976. The college focuses primarily on undergraduate education, but in 2007 it established the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, which offers a master's program in finance. Faculty at CMC are noted for exhibiting a more conservative political orientation than those at similar liberal arts institutions.[7][8][9][10]As of 2019[update], there were 1,338 undergraduate students and postgraduate students.[11]
Known as Claremont Men's College at its founding in September 1946, CMC began with seven faculty and an incoming class of 86 students,[12] many of them World War II veterans attending college on the G.I. Bill.[13] Claremont Men's College was the third Claremont College, after Pomona College and Scripps College. The college's motto is "Crescit cum commercio civitas", or "Civilization prospers with commerce".[14]
Coeducation
In 1975, CMC trustees voted to admit women in a two-thirds vote supported by students representing the Associated Students of Claremont Men's College;[15] the first women admitted to CMC joined in 1976. The move followed a national trend toward coeducation among peer schools. CMC president Jack L. Stark, who led the college during the transition, considered it CMC’s most important moment.[15] The women of CMC's earliest classes are known as "Pioneers" and graduated with degrees that still bore the name "Claremont's Mens College".[16] In 1981, CMC was renamed Claremont McKenna College in honor of founding trustee Donald McKenna.[17]
In November 1989, the father of a CMC student hired a stripper to perform in the college’s dining hall, sparking protests among some students. Then-CMC president Jack Stark told The New York Times he did not wish to comment on whether the incident was "degrading to women".[18]
2000s
On September 27, 2007, the college announced a $200 million gift from alumnus and trustee Robert Addison Day to create the "Robert Day Scholars Program" and a master's program in finance.[19] CMC literature professor Robert Faggen sent a letter signed by several other literature professors to CMC president Pamela Gann, saying they were concerned the gift would "distort the college into a single focus trade school."[20] In June 2020, RePEc ranked the college's economics department, the Robert Day School, 4th on its list of top US Economics Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges.[21]
In January 2012, a high-ranking official later identified as former dean of admissions Richard C. Vos[22] was discovered to have been inflating SAT scores by 10–20 points over six years in submissions to the U.S. News & World Report.[23][24]TIME magazine wrote that “such a small differential could not have significantly affected U.S. News & World Report rankings.”[25] A study commissioned by the college claimed to have found no evidence that the misrepresentations were meant to inflate the school’s ranking in the publication’s annual listings.[26] The controversy prompted Forbes to omit CMC from its yearly rankings in 2013.[27]
In November 2015, the college made national news[28][29][30] when the dean of students resigned after students protested what they called a lack of institutional resources for marginalized students; they interpreted an email message the dean had sent a student as implying that minority students did not fit the "CMC mold":
We have a lot to do as a college and a community. Would you be willing to talk to me about these issues? .... They are important to me and the DOS staff and we are working on how we can better serve students, especially those that don't fit our CMC mold.[31]
On April 6, 2017, about 300 student protesters (many of whom attended the other Claremont Colleges) blockaded the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum in an attempt to shut down a speech by conservative pundit Heather Mac Donald.[34][35] The college livestreamed the talk, as audiences were unable to enter the building. The college disciplined seven of its students who participated in the blockade, including suspending two for a semester and three for a year.[36][37]
The Campaign for CMC: Responsible Leadership raised more than $1 billion to double the size of its campus and expand science programs, faculty, and financial aid.[39]
Campus
The "Kube", designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, part of the Kravis Center.CMC's campus, looking west from the Bauer Center
The predominant architectural style of CMC's campus is California modernism, reflecting the style popular at the time of the college's founding in the 1940s.[40] In recent years, the older, more pedestrian and utilitarian buildings have begun to be replaced by more ostentatious constructions, such as the Kravis Center at the western edge of campus and the $70million Roberts Pavilion athletics center.[40] The campus also has sculptures and murals by contemporary artists.[41][42][43][44][45][46][non-primary source needed]
Organization and administration
CMC is chartered as a private, nonprofit organization and is a member of the seven-institution Claremont Colleges consortium. Students can take classes at any of the member colleges, and the colleges share libraries, student health, a bookstore, athletic facilities, and various student services.[47] The privately appointed, 40-voting-member board of trustees elects a president to serve as the college's chief executive officer.[1][48]Hiram Chodosh is CMC's fifth president. The president has an executive cabinet of nine vice presidents, including a VP of Students Affairs and a VP of Academic Affairs.[49]
CMC provides an education focused on economics, government, international relations, and public affairs.
Rankings
U.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings rated Claremont McKenna as tied for 8th-best liberal arts college in the U.S.[51]The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2025 Best US Colleges rankings rated it the 5th-best overall college or university and the best liberal arts college in the nation.[52] In 2024, Forbes ranked Claremont McKenna the 19th-best among 500 colleges, universities, and service academies in the nation, in between Brown University and Duke University.[53] Claremont McKenna is the nation's 10th-most selective college according to collegesimply.[54] It is ranked 13th nationally in "Best Universities and Colleges by Salary Potential" by Payscale.[55]
CMC is classified as "most selective" by U.S. News & World Report.[64] For the class of 2024, CMC accepted 633 applicants (11.2%) from a pool of 5,632.[65]
Financial aid
Tuition for the 2018–19 school year was $54,160 ($27,080 per semester) for a full-time student, and room and board on average $15,930 ($7,965 per semester for double room and 12 meals per week), for a total annual cost of attendance of $70,212.50 with other expected costs included.[66] CMC admits students on a need-blind basis and guarantees to meet all its students' financial needs as determined by the FAFSA and the College Board's CSS Profile.[67] For the 2016–2017 year, CMC awarded $27,021,024 in financial aid. 38.9% of students received need-based financial aid, with an average total grant aid package of $42,445, while 5.8% of students received merit aid, with an average award of $15,744.[61]
The college operates on a semester system and has 12 academic departments, 11 research institutes, and 33 on-campus majors, the most popular of which are economics, government, psychology, economics-accounting, and international relations.[5] CMC students may also major in subjects not offered at CMC if another college in the consortium has such a major. A popular example is computer science, which is offered by both Harvey Mudd College and Pomona College. The student to faculty ratio is 8:1 with an average class size of 18. 85% of the classes have fewer than 19 students. The six-year graduation rate is 93.3%, and the freshman retention rate is 92.7%.[61]
Curriculum
The Bauer Center houses the office of CMC's president (in north building, left) and the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance (in south building, right), as well as an auditorium and other facilities
About one third of the classes students complete are general education requirements. These include a humanities seminar and a writing seminar their first year, three semesters of a foreign language or demonstrated proficiency, a mathematics or computer science course, one laboratory science course and three semesters of a P.E. course or two seasons on a sports team. In addition, students must complete at least two humanities courses and three social science courses, all in areas outside the student's major. All students must complete a senior thesis, which can be either one-semester in length or, to receive departmental honors, two semesters. Claremont McKenna's curricular emphasis is on its social sciences, particularly economics, government, international relations, and psychology. CMC also offers an Oxford-style tutorial Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major with two separate tracks of 14 students each. Other multidisciplinary majors include management engineering, philosophy and public affairs, science and management, econ-accounting, biology-chemistry, and environment, economics, and politics (EEP). CMC also offers the Robert A. Day 4+1 BA/MBA, in which students receive both a BA from Claremont McKenna and an MBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in five years.[citation needed] Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates,[68] were:
Economics (90)
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies (27)
Political Science and Government (24)
Computer Science (17)
Experimental Psychology (16)
International Relations and Affairs (16)
CMC's science program is offered by the Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges. The Keck Science Department offers a double year-long introductory science class to allow more flexibility than the former three-year introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses most science majors must complete. In 2018, CMC announced that it planned to withdraw from Keck to create its own science department.[69]
Many CMC students study abroad or participate in one of two domestic programs, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Silicon Valley. In both these programs, students complete a full-time internship with a business or government department, remaining full-time students taught at night by CMC professors in the two locations.[70]
More than 75% percent of students attend graduate school within five years of graduation, and those who do not averaged a starting salary of $57,156 for the class of 2014, with average signing bonuses averaging $7,905.[71] Of CMC graduates applying to medical school, 80% get into their first- or second-choice institutions.[72]
View of the Kravis Center, completed in 2011, from Columbia Avenue.
CMC is known for its active party scene and relatively lenient alcohol policy.[73][74] Although the college's social scene draws students from the other schools in the consortium and is enjoyed by many, it has also drawn criticism. A 2012 Campus Climate Task Force report published by the school described a "pervasive, 'hyper-masculine' and heteronormative ethos at CMC", adding, "while female students are valued as friends and intellectual colleagues during the day, at night and particularly on the weekends, female students reportedly feel they are objectified targets for sex or 'hook-ups.'"[75] Since 2015, CMC and the other consortium schools have ramped up efforts to reform this culture, hiring a dedicated Title IX staff member,[clarification needed][76] creating the 7c EmPOWER Center,[clarification needed][77] conducting bystander training under the Teal Dot certification[clarification needed][76] and establishing a student-run advocates organization that provides 24/7 support for sexual assault victims.[78]
An abundance of substance-free social programming is available for students, notably including events planned by the College Programming Board, such as the annual Disneyland trip and on-campus arts and service events.[79]
Racial composition of degree-seeking Claremont McKenna College students (2019–2020)[80]
Category
Percent
White, Non-Hispanic
41%
Hispanic/Latino
15%
Asian, Non-Hispanic
12%
Black, Non-Hispanic
4%
American Indian or Alaskan Native, and
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Non-Hispanic
both < 1%
Two or more races
7%
Race or ethnicity unknown
5%
As of fall 2019, student enrollment consisted of 1,335 degree-seeking undergraduate students. CMC students' median family income was $201,300, the second-highest in California, with 58% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 15% from the bottom 60%.[81] The student body was roughly equally split between men and women, and 21% of students were first-generation. Ninety-five percent of freshmen returned for their second year.[82] Students hailed from 47 US states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and 46 foreign countries, including 16% of students who identified as nonresident aliens.[80]
The Claremont Colleges
Claremont McKenna College is a member of the Claremont Colleges Consortium, and most social activities revolve around the five colleges, or "5Cs". Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College, Scripps College, Pitzer College, and Harvey Mudd College share dining halls, libraries, and other facilities throughout the contiguous campuses. All five colleges, along with Claremont Graduate University and the Keck Graduate Institute, are part of the Claremont University Consortium. Notable benefits of being in the consortium include equal access to seven dining halls and 10 additional on-campus eateries, the fifth-largest private library collection in California, interaction with over 7,000 students, access to programs such as Harvey Mudd's Clinic Program and Claremont McKenna's Semester in Washington (DC) program, and the opportunity for housing exchanges with students at other colleges.[83] Most events sponsored by each school are open to students from all the Claremont Colleges, including invited speakers and performers, employment and recruiting events, and social events.
Student life centers on campus, with 96% of students living on campus;[80] four years of housing is guaranteed.[85] Claremont's dorms are divided into three regions: North Quad, Mid Quad, and South Quad. The student apartments sit on the east edge of campus are occupied primarily by seniors. All dorm rooms are attended to by housekeeping staff every week. North Quad comprises Appleby, Boswell, Green and Wohlford Halls, the campus's first dorms. In north quad, every room opens to the outdoors instead of to an interior hallway. North quad rooms are all doubles grouped into suites of four rooms that share a bathroom.
CMC's Mid Quad is home to Beckett, Berger, Benson, Phillips, Crown, Marks and Claremont Halls, which feature long interior corridors, double and single rooms, large shared-bathroom facilities and all-dorm lounge areas.[85] Berger, Claremont and Benson Halls are connected, and make up a larger building known on campus as BCB. As of 2022, Claremont Hall has been renamned to Valach Hall, therefore changing BCB into BVB.[86]
The tallest buildings in Claremont are "The Towers", Auen, Fawcett, and Stark Halls, which make up South Quad. Each tower has seven floors with approximately twelve students per floor. Each floor has a common area and a large shared bathroom, while there is also an all-dorm lounge area on the ground floor. Stark Hall, the newest of the South Quad dorms, is substance-free. Auen and Fawcett underwent complete interior renovations in the summer of 2008.
Crown Hall
The Student Apartments lie to the east of the college's athletic facilities and to the west of Claremont Boulevard. Each apartment is divided into four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Until recently, half the apartments were reserved for men and half for women, and apartments were allotted based on credits. In any given year, most of CMC's 260–300 seniors can live in the apartments.[85]
Student government
The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College (ASCMC) is the official student government of Claremont McKenna College.[87] ASCMC is composed of an executive board and a student senate. The executive board consists of both elected and appointed positions. It is chaired by the President, and meets weekly to discuss long-term projects and endeavors. Permanent committees led by members of executive board include the events team, the diversity & inclusion committee, and the residential life committee. Additionally, each class president has a cabinet to carry out class programming. The Senate is chaired by the executive vice president of ASCMC, and is tasked with passing resolutions to influence institutional policy, funding student-led initiatives, and bringing in administrators and other college stakeholders for town hall discussions. Senate has four standing committees: administrative affairs & appropriations (AAA), environmental affairs, campus improvements, and student engagement.
Affinity Groups
CMC has numerous identity-based clubs and organizations, including 1 Gen, for first generation college students), Asian Pacific American Mentors, Black Student Associations, ¡Mi Gente! (for Latino students), Sexuality and Gender Alliance, Women's Forum, and International Connect.[88] These clubs and organizations host a variety of support programming and social events for students to participate in.
Student journalism
Towers at South Quad
CMC attracts many students with an interest in journalism. Its student publications include the following:
The Student Life: The Student Life (abbreviated TSL) was founded in 1889. It is the oldest college paper in Southern California and the largest media organization at the Claremont Colleges, and is generally regarded as the colleges' publication of record. It prints weekly on Fridays, featuring news, opinions, lifestyle articles, and sports coverage of all five undergraduate Claremont Colleges. It is jointly funded by the 5C student governments.
The Golden Antlers: The Golden Antlers is a satirical and humorous campus publication founded in 2012. Although Claremont McKenna is its host, it is staffed by students from all five Claremont Colleges.[89]
The CMC Forum: The Forum is the oldest CMC-specific publication on campus. It features campus news, opinions, and lifestyle articles. Although originally a newspaper, the Forum is now solely an online news source.[90]
The Claremont Independent: The Independent, founded in 1996, is a magazine of conservative and libertarian writers that has frequently produced stories about the political culture of the Claremont Colleges that have been picked up by national conservative media outlets and drawn intense criticism from many students.[91][92][93] It is funded entirely through private donations.
The teams joined the NCAA Division III in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in 1958. The mascot for the men's teams is Stanley the Stag, and the women's teams are the Athenas. Their colors are cardinal and gold. In 2016, a new 144,000 square-foot recreation facility, named the Roberts Pavilion,[95] was completed.
Traditions
All incoming freshmen participate in W.O.A!, or "Welcome Orientation Adventure" W.O.A! is a student-run pre-orientation program. Options have included backpacking, camping and rock-climbing at Yosemite, canoeing down the Colorado River and community service in Los Angeles. Each trip is led by current students. W.O.A.! allows incoming students to develop friendships and get a sense for the college community before the formal beginning of their college careers.[citation needed]
The "Madrigal Feast" was an annual dinner held in the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. Both current students as well as alumni typically attended. Guests were treated to a medieval-themed feast, complete with wassail and a spirited musical performance put on by other students in medieval dress. This 26 year tradition was suspended in 2009.[96]
The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College host a "Monte Carlo" night which doubles as the school's homecoming dance. This tradition dates back to 1949.[97]
Several of Claremont McKenna College's traditions are water-related:
At noon on the due dates of senior theses, the students turn in their theses to the registrar, after which they are given a bottle of champagne by the registrar. In recent years, the class president has provided the champagne. The students spend the remainder of the afternoon in the fountains at the school, drinking, singing, celebrating and enjoying the warm California sun.[98]
At midnight of a student's birthday, their friends will throw them in the fountains in the center of campus while singing "Happy Birthday", a tradition known as "ponding".[99]
All seven colleges are part of the Claremont University Consortium, also known as "the 7 Cs". Together the campuses cover over 300 acres (120ha) and enroll over 6,000 students. In addition there are over 3,500 faculty and staff and more than 2,500 courses available.
Garrison Theater at Scripps College
Student life revolves around the colleges as they interact socially and also share seven dining halls, four main libraries and other facilities spread throughout the campuses. Notable facilities include:
Honnold/Mudd Library and the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges, the largest collection of any liberal arts college[100]
Students attending Claremont McKenna can enroll in up to 2/3 of their classes at the other undergraduate colleges and can also major at any other college if the major is not offered at CMC. This is the general academic policy at the schools and is meant to give students the resources of a larger university while still maintaining the qualities of a small, liberal-arts college.
Research institutes
CMC sponsors 12 on-campus research institutes and centers. They seek to produce new research and publications while involving undergraduate students in rigorous academic work.
The Berger Institute for Individual and Social Development[102]
The Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World[110]
The Randall Lewis Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship[111]
Fundraising
Claremont McKenna completed what was then the largest fundraising campaign ever initiated by a liberal arts college, raising $635 million from 2000 to 2013.[112] The campaign for Claremont McKenna fulfilled commitments in five priorities:
$110 million for students: need-based financial aid and merit scholarships, internships, research, speaker series and other experiences
$110 million for faculty: chairs, research and new curricula
$100 million for facilities: new buildings, renovations and master planning projects
$200 million for the Robert Day Scholars Program[113]
$80 million for The Fund for CMC: operating costs[114]
As part of the campaign, the college built the Kravis Center, a building that includes classrooms, faculty offices and research areas. Designed by Rafael Viñoly, it was completed in 2011. It is named after 1967 alumnus Henry Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, who donated $75 million for the building.[115]
Government consultant and felon Alan Heslop, founding director of the Rose Institute and former dean of faculty[146][147]
International political economist Hilary Appel, Podlich Family Professor of Government, director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies[148]
Historian and Fulbright Scholar Albert L. Park[149]
Political scientist John J. Pitney, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Politics
Climate scientist and National Geographic Explorer, Branwen Williams[150]
Computational biologist Ran Libeskind-Hadas serves on the Executive Board of the Computing Research Association and the National Science Foundation CISE Advisory Council and is the founding chair of Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences.
References
123"Faculty Handbook"(PDF). Office of the Dean of the Faculty, Claremont McKenna College. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 8, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
↑Greene, Howard; Greene, Matthew (August 16, 2016). The Hidden Ivies (3rded.). New York: Collins Reference. p.219. ISBN978-0-06-242090-9. Conservative in nature, Claremont McKenna best serves those who are either conservatives themselves or who welcome the opportunity to challenge themselves in such a setting.
↑"School Profile: Why Students Are so Happy at Claremont McKenna College". Veritas Prep. March 11, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2018. Claremont McKenna College has a reputation among the consortium as a party school. Some students say this is an unfair characterization that springs from the college's more lax campus drinking rules than the other four schools.
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